7 September 2023.
ISBN: 978-1-52941-422-6 (HB)
To her five successful novels in the Damian Seeker series set in Cromwell’s republic, SG MacLean has added what appears something of a postscript. For a start the novel is set in 1660, the early days of the Stuart restoration of Charles II, and Seeker makes only a very brief appearance in person. However, his shadow and reputation cover the entire story.
The country is awash with mistrust as those who committed regicide, or who are suspected of regicide, have gone into hiding and are being hunted. Seeker was a staunch republican, and he is on a list of traitors to the king. Lady Anne Winter (who has her own history) is a spy for the royalists and is employed by the unpleasant Roger L’Estrange to discover evidence of guilt or innocence among the people on this list. Seeker is no longer in the country, but his daughter Manon is. Now married and living in York with one young child and another on the way, She is in danger as she could lead the royalists to her father and others on the list. Lady Anne is not the only spy in action, and York is full of intrigue. Who can Manon trust? Her husband, lawyer Lawrence Ingolby, is also treading on thin ice given his past. The King’s lord lieutenant, the Duke of Buckingham, is not the easiest of people, and with questions also surrounding Thomas Faithly and Major David Ogilvie, it seems that nobody is safe.
The setting of York in deepest winter is convincing, and the authenticity of the period is helped by the mention or appearance of historical figures such as Andrew Marvell, John Milton and Samuel Pepys. Much of the plot is centred on Manon and Ingolby’s household. Jed Penmore is Ingolby’s clerk and Madge, his memorable grandmother, is the housekeeper. Griselda Duncan, Lady Anne’s assistant, is introduced into the household to help Madge, much to the latter’s displeasure. Plans and letters which may incriminate certain people go missing. We find that both Lady Anne and Griselda deceive the other by withholding information, despite their apparent closeness. And yes, there is a murder early on, but because of all the other shenanigans taking place it is easy to forget it for lengthy periods as much of the novel deals with other matters. The unmasking of the killer is, however, of great significance at the end.
This is a well-paced, well-plotted,
historically engaging and thoroughly enjoyable novel which comes to a
satisfying and convincing conclusion (although I am led by my suspicious nature
to suggest that there are sufficient loose ends and strong characters capable
of leading to a further story). It deals with a number of issues, not least the
nature of loyalty and the position of women in society at the time. A final
observation on the latter: as they prepare to leave York, Lady Anne suggests to
Griselda that they set up a school for women and young girls after they have
finished with Roger L’Estrange which will teach more than the usual how to
embroider and play the spinet. ‘Who knows better than we two what it is that a
woman can be capable of?’ she says. ‘Who is better fitted to teach young women
than we who have travelled so far, done so much, at times without a penny and
all on our wits?’
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Reviewer: David Whittle
S. G. MacLean
was born in 1968 in Inverness and grew up in the Scottish Highlands where her
parents were hoteliers. She
is the niece of
world-famous thriller writer Alistair MacLean. She obtained an MA and PH.D. in
History from Aberdeen University. She began to write fiction while bringing up
her four children (and Labrador) on the Banffshire coast. She has now returned
to live in the Highlands, where her husband is a head teacher.
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